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Samuel Menashe
Samuel Menashe (September 16, 1925 - August 22, 2011) was an American poet. Life Born in New York City as Samuel Menashe Weisberg, the son of Russian-Jewish immigrant parents, Menashe grew up in Elmhurst, Queens, and graduated from Townsend Harris High School and Queens College, where he majored in biochemistry. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army infantry, and in 1944 fought in the Battle of the Bulge. After the war, he used his GI Bill money to study at the Sorbonne, where he earned a Ph.D. for the thesis Un essai sur l'expérience poétique (étude introspective) in 1950.Menashe, Samuel (2000), "Giving the Day Its Due" Metre, 7-8: 142. Reprinted as one of the introductory pieces to his New and Selected Poems (Bloodaxe Books, 2009) In the 1950s, Menashe returned to New York where, except for frequent sojourns in England and Ireland, he lived most of his life. In 1961, he garnered the blessing of the British poet Kathleen Raine who arranged for his first book, The Many Named Beloved, to be published by Victor Gollancz in London. Menashe's short, intense, spiritual poems, which canvass existential dilemmas and use implication and wordplay as a way of deepening the linguistic force of his words, gained wide renown in Britain from reviewers such as Donald Davie, who became one of Menashe's most committed backers. He was later included in the Penguin Modern Poets series. He produced several more powerful books culminating in The Niche Narrows in 2000. Menashe was also a teacher and writing instructor. During the 1960s, he taught literature and poetry courses at C.W. Post College. Previously, he had taught at Bard College. Menashe died in his sleep in New York on August 22, 2011. Writing Despite much acclaim, Menashe remained marginal on the American poetry scene. Prominent poets, critics and editors who have admired Menashe's work include Dana Gioia, Denis Donoghue, Billy Collins, Geordie Greig, and Christopher Ricks. Recognition In 2004 he became the 1st poet honored with the "Neglected Masters Award" given by Poetry magazine and the Poetry Foundation. The award was also to include a book to be published by the Library of America, which turned out to be a Selected Poems edited by Ricks. This volume appeared in 2005 on the occasion of the poet's 80th birthday, and was widely reviewed. A revised edition, with 10 additional poems, was published in 2008. Bloodaxe Books in the UK published the volume (which also contained a DVD film about the poet's life and work) in 2009. Publications *''The Many Named Beloved: Poems''. London: Gollancz, 1961. *''No Jerusalem But This''. New York: October House, 1971. *''Fringe of Fire: Poems''. London: Gollancz, 1973. *''To Open''. New York: [Press|Viking, 1974. *''Bread''. Palo Alto, CA: Chimera Books, 1981. *''Collected Poems''. National Poetry Foundation, 1986. *''(Contributor) Miriam Gideon, The Shooting Starres Attend Thee: A Song Cycle: High Voice, Flute, Violin, and Violoncello. New York: C.F. Peters, 1989.Samuel Menashe 1925-2011, Poetry Foundation. Web, Feb. 9, 2014.'' *''Using the Window Ledge''. London: Turret Bookshop, 1992. *''Penguin Modern Poets 7'' (by Donald Davie, Samuel Menashe, & Allen Curnow). London & New York: Penguin Books, 1996. *''The Niche Narrows: New and selected poems''. Jersey City, NJ: Talisman House, 2000. *''Salt and Pepper''. West Chester, PA: Aralia Press, 2005. *''New and Selected Poems'' (edited by Christopher Ricks). New York: Library of America, 2005. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Samuel Menashe, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Feb. 9, 2014. Audio / video *''New and Selected Poems'' (CD). New York: Ratapallax, 2000? *''Samuel Menashe: Reading from his poems'' (CD). London: Poetry Archive, 2005. Except where noted, discographical information courtesy WorldCat. See also * List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems *Samuel Menashe 1925-2011 at the Poetry Foundation *Samuel Menashe at PoemHunter (38 poems) ;Audio / video * Samuel Menashe (1925-2011) at The Poetry Archive *Samuel Menashe at YouTube * Samuel Menashe: A Poet Gets His Due, NPR ;Books *Samuel Menashe at Amazon.com ;About * *Obituary, The Economist * [http://www.myjewishlearning.com/blog/culture/a-visit-with-samuel-menashe A Visit with Samuel Menashe] – Jake Marmer's overview of his personal encounter with the poet for My Jewish Learning blog. *"I Am the King's Son: The poetry of Samuel Menashe by Dana Gioia Category:1925 births Category:2011 deaths Category:Jewish American writers Category:American poets Category:Writers from New York City Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent Category:University of Paris alumni Category:People from Queens Category:Queens College, City University of New York alumni Category:American military personnel of World War II Category:Bard College faculty Category:C.W. Post College faculty Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Jewish poets Category:Poets